In the EFL Championship on Monday night, Darren Moore’s West Bromwich Albion and Thomas Frank’s Brentford square off at The Hawthorns. After a minor wobble, the Baggies have won three in a row to move up to fourth in the table. In contrast, the Bees are in dreadful form at the moment, as the Londoners head to the Midlands having lost six of their last seven to slip down to 18th.

West Brom have one of the best home records in the Championship this season, and the Baggies are the overwhelming favourites to seal another victory at The Hawthorns on Monday. Meanwhile, Brentford have not won away from home in the Championship since Dean Smith’s Bees won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest in April of last season. This should be a comfortable win for the hosts and more pain for Brentford’s new boss.

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West Bromwich Albion News: Baggies Back in Form

West Brom hit a strange patch of form recently, picking up just one point from four matches, losing to Wigan Athletic, Derby County and Hull City in the process. However, since that poor defeat at the KCOM Stadium, Albion have been superb, starting with an impressive 4-1 home win over in-form Leeds United at The Hawthorns before the final international break of the year. Since returning from the break, the Baggies have picked up two away wins on the bounce, beating Ipswich Town and Swansea City (both 2-1). They will approach this one full of confidence, with real belief that they can go all the way this term.

Instant Return to the Premier League?

West Brom have their eyes set on an instant return to the Premier League this season. The Baggies had a campaign to forget last term, finishing rock bottom despite a mini revival in the latter weeks of the season under Moore’s stewardship.

On the whole, despite a couple of mishaps along the way, Moore’s men have made a solid start to life back in the second tier. The Baggies have won 10, drawn four and lost five of their opening 19 Championship matches. After the midweek win at Swansea, Albion moved to within just three points of leaders Norwich City, impressive stuff given the results the Canaries themselves have enjoyed for some time now.

Six Wins in Nine on Home Soil

After falling to a shock 2-1 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers on the opening weekend of the season, West Brom went on to win each of their following six league and cup fixtures at The Hawthorns. In fact, since that loss to Bolton, Albion have won eight of their last 11 at home across all competitions. In their last match on their own patch, the Baggies thumped Leeds 4-1, with Hal Robson-Kanu, Matt Phillips, Harvey Barnes and Dwight Gayle getting the goals.

Leicester Loanee in Fine Form for the Baggies

Harvey Barnes, who is on loan from Leicester City, has enjoyed an excellent start to his loan spell at West Brom. The 20-year-old is highly thought of at the King Power Stadium, and his recent performances for the Baggies in the Championship are proving why. The midfielder has chipped in with a number of goas this term, scoring seven times already, with four of those coming in his last nine appearances.

Brentford News: Woeful Start Under Frank

Since Smith left to join Aston Villa back in October, Brentford have been on a miserable run of form. Frank stepped in after being Smith’s assistant for two years, but things have not gone to plan so far. The Bees have sealed just one win under his guidance, losing the other six games he has taken charge of.

In fact, the west London outfit have won only one of their last 13 in all competitions. Brentford have been dropping down the table at an alarming rate of knots over the past few months, going from the cusp of the play-offs to 18th, now only four points above the bottom three and in real danger of going down unless things improve soon.

Bees Without an Away Win

Brentford are one of only three teams yet to pick up an away win in the Championship this season. The Bees have drawn four and lost five of their opening nine away matches. Brentford have taken one point from the last 18 available on the road, with that draw coming at Elland Road in October. Brentford’s only win away from home this season was against EFL League One side Southend United in the Carabao Cup way back in August.

Some Injury Worries for the Bees

To make matters worse for the Bees, they could once again be without Said Benrahma, Julian Jeanvier, Kamohelo Mokotjo and Marcus Forss for Monday’s match at The Hawthorns. Benrahma and Mokotjo both have ankle issues while Jeanvier has a foot problem and Forss has recently picked up a knock.

Analysis: Easy Win for the Baggies

With these two teams at opposite ends of the Championship table and coming into the game in very different frames of mind, we can only see one winner on Monday. West Brom are starting to find their rhythm again after a difficult spell of results while the Bees look completely devoid of confidence under Frank. Unfortunately for Brentford, we can see them crashing to yet another defeat in this one.

Big Margin of Victory for the Hosts

Only Leeds and Wigan have taken more home points than West Brom so far, but no side in the Championship has scored more goals on their own patch up until now. Moore’s troops have notched a staggering 26 times in just nine home league matches this season, and we can see them adding a few more to that tally on Monday. The home team are worth backing to win -2 at really big odds of 11/2.

In-form Gayle to Strike Again

Gayle, who is on loan from Newcastle United, has enjoyed a fruitful spell in front of goal in recent months. The striker is more than capable at this level, and the 28-year-old has scored eight times in his last 12 Championship outings. Back Gayle to open the scoring on Monday at 4/1.

Baggies to Cruise to a 3-0 Win on Monday

In reality, this should be a stroll in the park for the Baggies. In terms of the correct score, we like the look of West Brom to win 3-0 on Monday, which is available at tempting odds of 16/1.

Recent Matches

These two sides have not met in the league since the 1992-93 Division Three campaign. Back then, the Baggies beat the Bees both home and away. The pair have squared off on two occasions in cup competitions since then, however. Meanwhile, Brentford’s last victory over West Brom in the league came way back in 1948.

12th August 2003: West Bromwich Albion 4 – 0 Brentford

When these two last went head-to-head back in August 2003, West Brom thumped Brentford 4-0 at The Hawthorns in a League Cup match. Rob Hulse (2), Bernt Haas and Scott Dobie were the scorers in the emphatic victory.

18th August 1998: Brentford 3 – 0 West Bromwich Albion

Back in August 1998, Brentford won 3-0 in the second leg of the first round of the League Cup. It was 0-0 at half time, but three second half goals gave the Bees a 3-0 victory at Griffin Park to see them progress to round two.

11th August 1998: West Bromwich Albion 2 – 1 Brentford

In the first leg of that cup tie, West Brom picked up a 2-1 win on home soil. Micky Evans and Lee Hughes put Albion 2-0 up, with Kevin Rapley reducing the deficit for Brentford in the 89th minute. In the end, the Bees won the tie 4-2 on aggregate.

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